Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Dom Hopson! 😀 Who coincidentally, are the amazing couple that gave me my first opportunity as a wedding photographer! This is just Part One of what will be a trilogy of the Lackey-Hopson Wedding Extravaganza!

This all came about because my manager, Sabine, was kind enough to recommend me to Kara. I brought my work to Ruby Tuesdays and had a sit down viewing with Kara; it was so nice to show my work to prospective client for the first time! We had a great time chatting and she even introduced me to the website of one of her friends, who is a travel photographer and very talented.

Since Kara and I were working together at Ruby Tuesdays, there were plenty of small opportunities to discuss ideas, their theme, and the wedding schedule. However, it wasn’t until much later that I became privy to the story of their engagement; they were engaged at the same place they were married! Dom proposed on Christmas Eve while they were outside “treasure hunting” (a.k.a. metal detecting) around Kara’s parents home. Apparently many of us have not realized the romantic potential of metal detecting! 😉 Combined with their backyard carnival themed wedding, Dom’s proposal encompasses their fun loving attitudes so well.

Unfortunately, mother nature had other plans for Kara and Dom’s outdoor ceremony. It had been raining throughout the day in bouts, but everyone was keeping their spirits high. As it neared 6 o’clock, it began to pour and the decision had to be made to move the ceremony under the reception tent. It was a little hectic getting everything planned in just a couple minutes, but everyone showed grace under pressure… especially the bride!

Part One is all about the natural light and includes the First Look between Kara and Dom, family first looks, details, and portraits. Enjoy and please let me know what you think! I’d love to hear from you!

I’d also like to apologize to Kara and Dom for taking TOO long to publish these! This is the first blog I’ve ever done about a wedding and the writing takes much longer than I expected! haha I just love you guys so much! I’m acting like I’m writing a book here or something. 😉 Look out for Part II coming soon!

You can check out Kara’s friend’s portfolio here: http://www.prewett.com/tyler/. Personally, my favorite are the multiple Asian continent based galleries!

Also, a big thanks to Vanessa Elam, my mom, for being my second shooter.

Here’s a peek at what’s to come in Parts II and III… It get’s pretty wild 😉

These pictures are simply perfect. And with the weather not cooperating I have to say that the bride was MORE than adaptable… I think the average girl would have been in tears at least… not her…which is probably one of the reasons my grandson chose her as his life partner. I look forward to seeing more photos. Beautiful so far 🙂